Deputies: Louisiana man hid in Florida teen’s room for weeks

Author: The Associated Press
Published:
Johnathan Lee Rossmoine (Credit: HCSO booking photo)

A Louisiana man found hiding in a Florida teenager’s closet had been staying in the child’s bedroom for more than a month, according to investigators.

The Hernando County Sheriff’s Office charged Johnathan Lee Rossmoine, 36, with multiple sex crimes Sunday after deputies were called to a Spring Hill home by the parents of the teenager, who found Rossmoine in a closet in the child’s bedroom, the agency announced Tuesday.

Rossmoine allegedly told deputies he traveled from Louisiana to Florida several times to have sexual encounters with the teen. Investigators said he had been in Hernando County for about five weeks when he was discovered.

Deputies said the two met online about two years ago, and the teen referred to Rossmoine as their boyfriend. The teen told deputies that Rossmoine had been living off and on in their bedroom since Aug. 19, according to the agency. He hid in the closet when the teen’s parents were home and would come out when they left for work, the sheriff’s office said.

Rossmoine was charged with four counts of lewd and lascivious behavior with a victim between the age of 12 and 16 and one count of obscene communication, travel to meet after use of a computer to lure a child.

It was not immediately clear whether he had an attorney who could comment for him.

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